Tony Stewart News

Tony Stewart hovered in and around the top-10 throughout much of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. But when a late-race bid for track position didn’t work out as planned, Stewart finished 20th.

The result was not indicative of the effort. Stewart qualified sixth on Friday in his No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), and then Saturday saw two solid practice sessions that had Stewart and his racecar dialed in for 500 laps around Martinsville’s .526-mile oval on Sunday.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway by setting the sixth-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Martinsville 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 19.428 seconds at 97.468 mph on the .526-mile oval in the final round of knockout qualifying.

“We’ve got a great start to the weekend here,” said Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup winner at Martinsville (October 2000, April 2006 and October 2011). “This place is so tough, and qualifying is half the battle here. If you can just get a good pit spot and get a decent starting spot to where you don’t have to beat the car up trying to get to the front, that’s half the battle. Our Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevy is in a good spot for Sunday.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 25, 2015) – Tony Stewart’s love of competition is in a league all its own. It’s what drove him to strap into a go-kart as a seven-year-old and it has continued to fuel his racing career in the decades following.

Matching Stewart’s passion for sport is his commitment to giving back. Through the Tony Stewart Foundation, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has spearheaded various projects and events to raise money for and bring awareness to causes ranging from childhood disease to animal welfare. It’s the latter of those interests that led to a partnership with Code 3 Associates, with Stewart carrying its colors on his No. 14 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

ROSSBURG, Ohio (March 23, 2015) – Earl Baltes, the racing pioneer who founded Eldora Speedway in 1954, passed away early this morning. The 93-year-old visionary sold the iconic, half-mile dirt oval to Tony Stewart in November 2004 after making the track a premiere destination for racers and fans alike. The following is a statement from Stewart.

“Earl Baltes was the yardstick other track promoters measured themselves by. He constantly raised the bar, and he did it by creating events everyone else was afraid to promote. He did them himself, too. Not as a fair board, or a public company, or with major sponsors or millions of dollars in TV money. He put it all on the line with the support of his family. He and his wife, Berneice, created a happening at Eldora. They turned Eldora into more than just a racetrack. They made it a place to be. They were integral to the evolution of dirt-track racing and the sport as a whole. Earl will be missed, but he won’t ever be forgotten because of his devotion to auto racing.”

Tony Stewart drove his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS to a solid 14th-place finish in the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The effort was Stewart’s best of the season, but it didn’t come easy.

A skirmish with the No. 78 Chevrolet of Martin Truex Jr., on lap 163 punched a hole in the nose of Stewart’s machine. Truex, unhappy with another competitor, drove across three lanes on the backstretch of the wide, 2-mile oval and in doing so, cut across the front end of Stewart’s Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevy. This damaged the rear of Truex’s bumper, but the impact to Stewart’s car was far greater. The hole drastically affected the car’s aerodynamics, and it couldn’t be fixed until a prolonged pit stop while under caution on lap 186. That dropped Stewart from 13th to 20th when the race restarted on lap 190.

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) drivers Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick qualified 1-2 for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It marked the second time SHR drivers swept the front row for a Sprint Cup race. The last time SHR drivers qualified 1-2 was July 15, 2011 when Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart took the front row at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, turned a lap of 38.889 seconds at 185.142 mph on the 2-mile oval in the final round of knockout qualifying. It was his 17th career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his series-best fourth at Fontana. It was also the 24th Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s second this season. Harvick won the pole last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 17, 2015) – Now in his 17th year as a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart has learned a thing or two about navigating the series’ marathon-like schedule.

Thirty-six point-paying events lasting two to three days at 23 venues across the United States are packed into a 10-month span beginning in mid-February and carrying through the penultimate weekend of November. It’s a challenge that has yielded only seven different Sprint Cup champions in the last 14 years when the schedule expanded to its current 36-race slate in 2001.

Tony Stewart’s subpar start to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season continued Sunday in the CampingWorld.com 500k at Phoenix International Raceway.

After driving his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS into the top-10 from his 17th-place starting spot, two separate accidents conspired to leave Stewart 39th when the checkered flag dropped.

It all came undone on lap 237 when Stewart was in 13th place after a round of pit stops jumbled the running order. Making his way back toward the top-10, Stewart was racing Justin Allgaier in turns three and four when the two made contact.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Phoenix International Raceway by winning the pole for the CampingWorld.com 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. It was the 23rd Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s first this season.

Harvick turned a lap of 25.577 seconds at 140.751mph in the third and final round of knockout qualifying on the 1-mile oval to score his 15th career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his first in 25 races at Phoenix. Harvick won a series-leading eight poles last season on his way to the 2014 Sprint Cup championship.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 10, 2015) – When Tony Stewart first turned a lap at Phoenix International Raceway back in 1993, it was love at first sight for the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS.

The setting was the famed Copper World Classic where a 21-year-old Stewart was competing in the season-opening USAC Silver Crown race. Stewart qualified second to Davey Hamilton – a former IndyCar veteran – and led 31 of the 50 laps before finishing second to Mike Bliss – the 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion. The $3,500 payday for his second-place effort made eight-hour days at $5 an hour in the cold confines of the machine shop where Stewart worked in Columbus, Indiana, seem unnecessary. Packing the rest of the 1993 season with Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget races across the nation, Stewart’s quick ascent up the racing ladder began.

Like many who come to Las Vegas, Tony Stewart arrived optimistic. Count Stewart among the many who leave Las Vegas disappointed.

In his 17th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Stewart struggled with an ill-handling racecar in the Kobalt 400. When the checkered flag dropped, Stewart was 33rd. Adding insult to injury was a NASCAR pit road penalty that went against Stewart and the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops team during a caution period on lap 84.

“It got a little two tight in (turns) three and four that last run,” said Stewart, who won at Las Vegas in 2012. “Still, it’s a decent starting spot for Sunday. We worked in race trim a little bit today, and tomorrow is where we’ll get this Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops ready for the race.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 5, 2015) – For the next three weeks the West Coast will serve as the pseudo headquarters for all things NASCAR. The “West Coast Swing” kicks off with this weekend’s Kobalt 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is the 2012 winner.

While adding another trophy to his vast collection is top-of-mind for Stewart, so too is the big picture the West Coast Swing represents with back-to-back-to-back races at Las Vegas, Phoenix International Raceway and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Beyond the logistical challenge of racing west of the Mississippi River for the better part of a month, these three tracks serve as a composite for the majority of tracks the Sprint Cup Series visits.

INDIANAPOLIS (March 4, 2015) – The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series, recently purchased by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, today announced its 2015 tour dates. The schedule will consist of 54 total events spanning six states, including 29 events in Ohio and 14 in Pennsylvania.

While the schedule began in February with five non-points events in Florida between Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala and Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, races counting toward the season-ending championship get underway in late March.

Five hundred miles at Atlanta Motor Speedway takes a long time, and when you’re struggling with an ill-handling racecar, it takes even longer. Sunday’s Folds of Honor 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race took three hours and 49 minutes to complete. For Tony Stewart, it felt like an eternity.

Stewart, the three-time Sprint Cup champion, finished 30th in the 325-lap race around the 1.54-mile oval.

From the drop of the green flag, Stewart was already playing from behind. He started 39th in the 43-car field after NASCAR’s technical inspection process on Friday dragged on so long that 13 drivers, including Stewart, were never able to make a qualifying lap. Stewart took a provisional to make the race, and was joined by fellow champions Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson at the back of the field.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway by setting the second-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Folds of Honor 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick turned a lap of 28.608 seconds at 193.792 mph on the 1.54-mile oval in the final qualifying round.

“In the first round, I missed turn one, and in the last round, I missed turn one again and just didn’t get to the bottom like I needed to in order to get back in the throttle,” said Harvick, who scored his first Sprint Cup victory at Atlanta in 2001. “I’m just really proud of everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet for everything they’ve done. We have a fast car. I feel really good about our car on the long haul and that’s what matters.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Feb. 25, 2015) – Atlanta Motor Speedway plays host to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for a daytime race in the crisp air of late winter rather than a nighttime race in the heat of late summer. Gone is the Labor Day weekend event at the 1.54-mile oval and back is an early-season race in March, which had been an Atlanta staple dating back to the 1960s.

Rather than serving as the penultimate race before the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as it had since 2009, Atlanta now serves as the second race of the year. The stop in NASCAR’s Southeastern base allows teams a return to the routine of a three-day race weekend after spending nearly two weeks in Daytona Beach, Florida, for Budweiser Speedweeks and the season-opening Daytona 500.

Tony Stewart felt confident heading into the 57th Daytona 500 Sunday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. It was his 17th career start in the Great American Race, and his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS was fast throughout Budweiser Speedweeks.

But just 42 laps into the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Stewart lost control off turn four. In the short chute entering the frontstretch of the 2.5-mile oval, the right-front corner of Stewart’s Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy smacked the outside retaining wall. The damage forced Stewart to the garage area for repairs.

Tony Stewart put forth a solid performance in the Budweiser Duel Thursday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, finishing fourth in his qualifying race for the 57th Daytona 500 on Sunday. The result earned Stewart the seventh-place starting spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ season-opening race.

Getting that top-five finish didn’t come without a close call, however. When the engine on Casey Mears’ car blew up on lap 17, Stewart’s No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS was right behind the stricken machine. Stewart skated up the track and just grazed the outside retaining wall with the right-front fender.

For the first time, NASCAR used group qualifying to determine the front row for the 57th Daytona 500 on Feb. 22. Previously, time trials were used to set positions 1-2 in the Daytona 500, where a driver made two timed laps around the 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The fastest driver earned the pole and the second fastest driver earned the No. 2 starting spot.

The new format to set the front row for this year’s Daytona 500 did not go well for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). Here’s how it happened.

Qualifying consisted of three rounds with the first round divided into two groups based on a random draw. Teams drawing an odd number were placed in the first group with even numbers in the second group. All four SHR drivers were in the first group.

Tony Stewart had a strong run going in the Sprint Unlimited Saturday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Unfortunately, his time in the non-points exhibition race was limited after a crash on lap 68 ended his race seven laps short of the finish.

Stewart had driven his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) from 22nd in the 25-car field to as high as second with 15 laps to go. But coming off turn two of the 2.5-mile oval on lap 68, Stewart got sideways and collected his teammate, Kurt Busch. Both cars sustained heavy damage, and while the drivers were able to walk away unharmed, their racecars had to be towed back to the garage.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Feb. 11, 2015) – It was all there. The trademark mischievous grin. The perfectly timed wisecrack. The twinkle in the eye. It was vintage Tony Stewart, and it was on display a few weeks ago during the annual Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Media Tour.

It’s Stewart’s state of being as the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS begins his 17th year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where his aim is a return to the championship form he displayed in 2011 when he scored his third Sprint Cup title.

Nonetheless, Stewart comes into 2015 fresh off a championship, albeit as a car owner. As the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas, Stewart was able to hoist the championship-winning car owner trophy when his driver and teammate, Kevin Harvick, triumphed in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

But there’s a reason Stewart is referred to as a driver-owner, for driving is his first priority. Since earning his most recent driving title in 2011 when he outdueled Carl Edwards in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Stewart has won only four times in the three years since. For someone who is used to winning multiple times in a single season to earn a total of 48 career Sprint Cup victories – tied for 13th on the Sprint Cup Series’ all-time win list with NASCAR Hall of Famer Herb Thomas – Stewart is ready to go retro.

In a career that has seen three championships (2002, 2005 and 2011) and victories at all but two of the tracks the Sprint Cup Series visits, Stewart has a robust resume any racer would covet. But one trophy missing from his mantle is the Harley J. Earl, given to the winner of the season-opening Daytona 500.

The 57th Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 22 will be Stewart’s 33rd career, point-paying Sprint Cup start at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. And while he has yet to score a Daytona 500 win, the “World Center of Racing” is a likely place for Stewart to return to his winning ways.

Among active drivers, Stewart is Daytona’s all-time race winner. Between point-paying Sprint Cup races, non-point races, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the former IROC series, Stewart has a total of 19 Daytona wins. The tally places Stewart second on the track’s all-time win list, 15 behind the late, great Dale Earnhardt, who has 34 total victories at Daytona and is part of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class of 2010.

Stewart is a four-time Sprint Cup winner at Daytona, having scored victories in the annual Fourth of July weekend race in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012, the most among active drivers. Augmenting those four wins are nine top-fives, 14 top-10s and 668 laps led in 32 career, point-paying Daytona starts.

In his most recent Sprint Cup win at Daytona – the 2012 Coke Zero 400 – Stewart exercised textbook patience, waiting to make his move for the win well past the race’s halfway mark. He took the lead on lap 131 and led 21 circuits before relinquishing the top spot to the duo of Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle on lap 152. A massive crash set up a two-lap dash to the finish and Stewart regained the lead on the final lap with an impressive drive around Biffle and Kenseth off turn two and down the backstretch. When another multicar wreck brought out the caution, Stewart’s victory was sealed. It was his 47th career Sprint Cup win.

Stewart arrives for Budweiser Speedweeks at Daytona with a reinvigorated focus on the future that is buoyed by past success. It’s the perfect balance, and it’s vintage Smoke.

What is your outlook as you prepare for the 2015 season?

“I can tell you that from a desire to still compete at a high level and win championships, it’s as high as it’s ever been. I’m not happy about the last two years of my life, by any means, but I’ve never questioned who I am or what I do. It’s probably made my desire stronger than ever. We’ve had two rough years back to back – something I would never wish on anybody – but deep down inside I know who I am as a person and I know who I am as a driver. It’s given me more drive and desire to get back to the old form that our fans and our sponsors like Bass Pro Shops and Mobil 1 and everybody is used to seeing us in. That’s what I want to get back to, and that’s what makes the start of 2015 so exciting for me. It’s flipping the page and getting ready to get focused again on what we love doing.”

How much does last year’s car-owner championship shape your outlook for this season?

“Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers and that No. 4 team winning the championship proves we have the right tools in place to have that kind of success. It’s a matter of just putting the pieces together. We know we have room for improvement as an organization and getting all of our cars performing at the same level. That’s what we’ve worked on in the offseason, to try to match what Kevin’s done.”

This is your second year with Chad Johnston as your crew chief. How much has the relationship with him grown since this time last year?

“I think from day one – when it comes to personality – we are a perfect fit for each other. When you hear people talk about driver and crew chief combinations, you hear them talk about it as a marriage, and you really have to be in sync with the person that is your crew chief. It’s just taken a while for me to get used to the path that he was going down with the engineering. As everything evolves each year, you have to keep changing as a driver to catch up to it. So I feel like getting that first year under our belt was important. I’ve seen a lot more confidence, especially at the end of last year. He made some key personnel changes in the offseason, and I think they’re changes he’s very, very comfortable and confident with. It’s just given us more time during the offseason to develop our relationship, but I see more confidence in him now than ever.”

What is the status of your leg since having that fourth surgery in December?

“I haven’t been in a car since Homestead, but everything else I’ve been doing with just everyday life shows that it’s been feeling much, much better. There is one more surgery scheduled at the end of next year – about the same time as this past year – and it’s just to take the titanium rod out. At that point I will have all of the hardware out of my leg. That should be the last surgery, and it will be a short recovery period.”

Restrictor-plate racing isn’t your favorite type of racing, but it is one at which you seem to excel, particularly at Daytona. What makes it frustrating?

“I wish I could explain it. I’m certainly not any happier about it than I’ve always been, but we’ve had a lot of success at restrictor-plate tracks, especially Daytona. I’m glad we’re halfway decent at it, but it’s still always frustrating when you have to rely on what everybody else does. It’s not what you do. It’s what you do along with somebody else who decides that they’re going to follow you and help you. That’s the part that frustrates you as a driver. The great thing about restrictor-plate racing though is that 43 cars all have the same shot at winning the race, but again, that’s also part of what makes it frustrating, too. It’s just being at the right place at the right time.”

It seems that luck plays as much of a factor at Daytona as everything else. Why is that?

“Someone described racing on the superspeedways of being a combination of a science project and the luck of a casino, and it’s exactly that way. You do everything in your power to take care of the science or technology side. You do everything you can to build the fastest car. If you don’t have the luck to go with it – even if you don’t have any drama with getting the car touched, nothing happens to the car – if you’re just in the wrong spot at the wrong time, it can take you out of the opportunity to take the best racecar in the field and win.”

What would winning the Daytona 500 mean to you?

“You look at marquee events around the world, and not only in NASCAR but in all of motorsports – the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours At Daytona, the Indy 500, the Knoxville Nationals – and to be a driver that can cross off one of those marquee events as a winner, that cements your legacy in motorsports. To be able to win the Daytona 500 is the ultimate dream of a racecar driver.”

Where would winning the Daytona 500 rank for you?

“No. 1. I may never get a chance to run in those other marquee events, so that’s why it puts the Daytona 500 at the top, because it’s something that we actually have a shot at. But it is hard. It’s a hard race, and it’s not like you get to come back next week and try it again if you don’t accomplish it. You get one shot a year to accomplish this goal.”

In 2008, you nearly won the Daytona 500. How close were you?

“I’ve run that race over in my mind a million times on what I thought I could’ve done differently. If it would’ve been the Daytona 498, I had it won. I was forced to make a decision of whether I was going to put my whole race in jeopardy to win it, or know that I was getting passed but I may have a shot to get it back in the end. I took the safer route, and I wish I would’ve thrown caution to the wind. I think I would’ve rather crashed out of it knowing that I did everything I could, but I wasn’t sure that if I made the move to block Ryan (Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner) to get in front of him – they were coming at such a high rate of speed, I was probably going to crash half the field if I moved.”

If you had to do that race over again, would you make the other decision?

“Yes. That decision to play it safe has haunted me ever since. So, if that situation happens again, I may come back on a hook, but at least I can say I know I did everything I could do to give myself that shot.”

Why was a Daytona 500 win just not in the cards for you that day?

“Ahhh, you know, I was working really good with my (then) teammate Kyle Busch. It was just being at the right place at the right time and, you know, Ryan (Newman) and Kurt Busch had just got hooked up and were making a huge, huge run, and that’s what it took to get by us. That was the only way they were going to get by us, was to get locked together, and they did a really good job at it.”

When you’re in the draft, how much control do you feel you have inside the racecar?

“It depends on the circumstances. You can’t see the air and you hit different pockets (of air). You hit a pocket where you get a real big tow or you hit a pocket where it seems they’re getting a tow and pulling you back, and you just have to play the circumstances. You just try getting in different scenarios and try to learn if you get in the middle of the draft, what does it do? Will it give you a push? Will it not give you a push? If you get next to this car, does it suck you up or does it slow you down? It’s trial and error, but at the same time, it’s like pulling a pin on a grenade. You know through that process that if one guy makes a mistake, your car’s torn up. It’s just a delicate balance of how hard you go, how many things you try, and how much time you spend doing it.”

INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 28, 2015) – Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart has agreed to terms with Guy Webb, owner of the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series, to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour.

The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. The transaction between Webb and Stewart will proceed immediately.

“I’ve put my heart and soul into the All Star Circuit of Champions for many years, and it gives me great peace of mind to hand over the reins of this series to Tony Stewart,” Webb said. “Tony is dirt track racing’s biggest advocate, and he’s always working in the best interest of sprint car racing. His leadership will ensure the success of this series for many years to come.”

For Tony Stewart the driver, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was forgettable. An overheating engine dropped him out of the race early, leaving Stewart with a 43rd-place finish.

But for the Tony Stewart who co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas, Sunday at Homestead was unforgettable as SHR’s Kevin Harvick took the win and the series championship.

With a damaged front grill from contact earlier in the 267-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval, Stewart’s No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS began to overheat. With the oil and water temperatures pegged, Stewart was forced to take his car off the racetrack and into the garage. After completing 182 laps, Stewart’s day was over, at least as a driver.

The Phoenix 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway was 312 laps, and from the beginning of the three-hour event on the 1-mile oval, Tony Stewart fought an ill-handling racecar.

After just 10 laps, Stewart radioed to crew chief Chad Johnston that his car was loose off turn four. Fifteen laps later, it was still loose off the corner but also tight in the center of turns three and four. When the caution flag waved for the first of 12 times on lap 32, Stewart explained that he needed more overall grip.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Phoenix International Raceway by setting the third-fastest lap in qualifying for the Phoenix 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Harvick turned a lap of 25.353 seconds at 141.995 mph on the 1-mile oval

“I got up the racetrack a little bit the first lap in turn one, and on the second lap I got up the track in turns three and four. So, I just missed it by a little bit,” said Harvick, who has a series-best five Sprint Cup wins at Phoenix (April 2006, November 2006, November 2012, November 2013 and March 2014). “Our Budweiser Chevrolet is really good in race trim and we’re really looking forward to the race.”

Stewart noted early in the race that his racecar was handling tight in the center of the track’s corners. The Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 machine had decent balance around the 1.5-mile oval, but lost grip as the race progressed.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth by setting the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying for the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Busch turned a lap of 27.148 seconds at 198.910 mph on the 1.5-mile oval in the third qualifying round.

“Good runs all the way through,” said Busch, who won at Texas in November 2009. “We had to make some big changes going into qualifying with the car touching the racetrack due to the extra speed. The pace that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been on for qualifying this year is track records everywhere we go. This time around was no different. But we were able to advance through all three rounds and really put up a good fight in the final round. We almost had a shot at the pole, we ended up a little tight in turn four, and that brought us home fourth. A great day all the way around for the first time with Tony Gibson, the engineers and everyone on this Haas Automation Chevy. It felt good to get that first day under our belt.”

Rare, if ever, has Tony Stewart considered a fourth-place finish a win. But after finishing fourth in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Stewart said, “Fourth never felt so good.” The effort equaled his season-best finish of fourth earned at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March.

For a driver with three championships and 48 career Sprint Cup victories, this seems abnormal. But the last two seasons have been far from normal for Stewart, where consistency has been hard to find and his last victory came 57 races ago at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. A new car with a new rules package, along with a new crew chief and new teammates, have injected incessant change into Stewart’s routine since he won the 2011 Sprint Cup title.

“Qualifying up front here is really important. It means pit stall selection and that’s the biggest thing,” said Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup winner at Martinsville (October 2000, April 2006 and October 2011). “That’s a good run for us. We haven’t qualified that well here in a while. I’m proud of Chad (Johnston, crew chief) and the whole Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats/Mobil 1 team. They did an awesome job.”

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), had a plan for the Geico 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway: Hang around the back of the 43-car field and be in position at the end of the race to contend for the win. It was a plan that he was playing to perfection until a midrace accident caused enough damage to put him in the unwanted position of limping to the checkered flag with a 34th-place finish.

“I saw them wrecking and someone just hit me from out of nowhere – didn’t even see who it was,” said Stewart, the 2008 winner of the fall race at Talladega. “I thought our Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy was pretty good. We just never got a chance to show it.”

Busch turned a lap of 49.850 seconds at 192.096 mph on the 2.66-mile oval.

“That was definitely an interesting qualifying format,” said Busch, who has six top-five finishes in 26 Sprint Cup starts at Talladega. “We qualified about half as fast as we needed to in the Haas Automation Chevrolet. We’ll go race tomorrow and see what happens.”

A promising start for Tony Stewart Saturday night in the Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ended with a 21st-place finish.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), started fourth in the 334-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval and nabbed third place from Denny Hamlin after only one lap.

Stewart held steady among the top-five for the race’s first 50 laps before slowly drifting back with a racecar that was tight in the center of the track’s corners and too loose back to the gas.

“We had a really good practice, but those first couple of qualifying laps were nothing like practice,” said Stewart, who won at Charlotte in October 2003. “We started off really tight, to the point where I couldn’t even be flat on my out lap. But I’m proud of Chad Johnston (crew chief) and this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team because they all worked to find a solution and fine tune this No. 14 Chevrolet. We advanced all the way to the third round and now we’ll start on the outside of row two. We’ll take that.”

Stewart started ninth and 25 laps into the 267-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval, complained of a lack of rear grip. It was a complaint that never went away, despite constant chassis adjustments during each pit stop.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City by winning the pole for the Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. It was the 22nd Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s ninth this season.

Harvick turned a lap of 27.325 seconds at 197.621 mph in the third and final round of knockout qualifying on the 1.5-mile oval to score his 14th career Sprint Cup pole, his series-high eighth of the season and his third straight at Kansas. Prior to this year, the most poles Harvick ever won in a single season were two in 2005.

Tony Stewart turned in a solid performance in Sunday’s AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway by finishing 14th in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). It was his 12th top-15 result of the 2014 season.

Stewart started the race from 15th in the 43-car field and noted early on in the race that while the car was handling tight in the center of the turns, it was better upon exit. The Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops machine had decent balance around the 1-mile, concrete oval, and it allowed Stewart to make steady progress, as he climbed to 12th place within the first 50 laps.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway by winning the pole for the AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. It was the 21st Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s eighth this season.

Harvick turned a lap of 22.095 seconds at162.933 mph on the 1-mile, concrete-oval to score his 13th career Sprint Cup pole, his series-high seventh of the season and his first at Dover. Prior to this year, the most poles Harvick ever won in a single season were two in 2005.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), experienced an off weekend at the 1.058-mile oval. He qualified 28th on Friday, endured a spin in final practice on Saturday and struggled with an ill-handling racecar throughout Sunday.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Designate a Driver Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by setting the third-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick turned a lap of 27.193 seconds at 140.065 mph on the 1.058-mile oval in the final qualifying round.

“Those were huge improvements for our Budweiser team from what we had in practice, and I feel like it gave us a good direction for race trim,” said Harvick, who won at New Hampshire in September 2006. “I’m just real proud of everybody on our Budweiser team and I’m proud to be driving the Designate a Driver car this weekend. It sends a great message to everybody to drink responsibly. Have a good time, but have a plan to drink responsibly as you go out.”

Tony Stewart’s 18th-place finish in the MyAFibStory.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, was far from the result usually earned by the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

In his12 previous Sprint Cup starts at Chicagoland, Stewart secured a series-best average finish of 8.5. On only two occasions had Stewart finished outside the top-10 at the 1.5-mile oval (2001 and 2006).

Rain canceled Friday’s qualifying session for the MyAFibStory.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. As a result, the 43-car field for Sunday’s 267-lap event around the 1.5-mile oval was set by taking the fastest lap each driver posted during Friday’s practice session, per the NASCAR rulebook.

Tony Stewart had a silent but strong run in the Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series raceSaturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

The driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) started 19thand worked his way into the top-10 by lap 310 of the 400-lap race. But a pit road miscue during a caution period on lap 331 derailed Stewart’s top-10 effort. A missing lugnut on the left-rear tire meant that Stewart had to return to pit road on the following lap to have the lugnut installed. Instead of restarting among the top-10, Stewart restarted in 15th.

With plenty of traffic in front of him and too many laps behind him, Stewart had little time to make up the lost ground with only 64 laps remaining. He held steady in 15th, earning his 11th top-15 finish of the season.

“It doesn’t drive very well, but it drives – I guess as good as anybody’s,” said Harvick, who has three Sprint Cup wins at Richmond (September 2006, September 2011 and April 2013). “The Budweiser team has done a great job and we just have to put it all together.”

Tony Stewart had a strong start Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Oral-B USA 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, but it was an early, 41st-place finish for the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

A flat right-front tire on lap 171 around the 1.54-mile oval sent Stewart into the turn-two wall. The right side of the No. 14 machine scraped along the SAFER Barrier and then moments later, the tire shredded, ripping apart sheetmetal and suspension components.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway by winning the pole for Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was the 20th Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s seventh this season.

Harvick turned a lap of 29.118 seconds at 190.398 mph on the 1.54-mile oval to score his 12th career Sprint Cup pole, his sixth of the season and his first at Atlanta. It was also Harvick’s second consecutive pole, as he claimed the top spot in qualifying last week at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Prior to this year, the most poles Harvick ever won in a single season were two in 2005.

Stewart sat out the past three races at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway following the tragic accident on Aug. 9 involving Kevin Ward Jr. during a sprint car feature at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park.

At 1 p.m. EDT on Friday in the infield media center at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stewart will be available to the press, where he will be joined by Stewart-Haas Racing executive vice president Brett Frood.

In order to cover this event, media must be credentialed by Atlanta Motor Speedway. Credential requests should be e-mailed to Dustin Bixby, Atlanta Motor Speedway director of marketing and promotion, at DustinB@AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com by Friday at 10 a.m. All requests must include full name, requesting media organization, phone number and e-mail address.

“I didn’t really put a whole lap together,” said Harvick, who won at Watkins Glen in 2006. “The car was really good – just didn’t get everything out of it that I needed to get the pole. Still, it’s a solid effort by our Budweiser team and a really good starting position. From there we should be able to hopefully race up front all day.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Aug. 6, 2014) – Tony Stewart will be turning left and right this weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, but since this time last year, his career has come full circle.

A year ago, Stewart was absent from The Glen. His streak of consecutive starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ended at 521 when in the wee hours of Aug. 5, 2013, an accident in a sprint car race at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, left him with a broken right tibia and fibula.

Stewart’s season was over, and he did not return to a racecar until Feb. 14, 2014 when practice for the Sprint Unlimited began at 5 p.m. EST at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. #StandWithSmoke was the mantra upon Stewart’s return, and it’s appropriate that #StandWithSmoke reappears in Stewart’s return to Watkins Glen.

Tony Stewart will never know what might have been in the GoBowling.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, where varying pit strategies ruled the day. The driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) was collected in a multicar accident on lap 117 and was left with a 36th-place finish.

“It (the wreck) was far enough ahead of us that I never even saw how it started,” said Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup winner at Pocono (June 2003 and June 2009). “We were just coming off of (turn) two there and somebody got sideways. They started wrecking in front of us, and we got caught up in it. I ended up on top of Paul Menard’s hood, so it wasn’t where we wanted to end up with our Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevy, by any means.”

“It was a good day for the Haas Automation team,” said Busch, a two-time Sprint Cup winner at Pocono (July 2005 and August 2007). “We were in position to get a pole. We had speed in practice and all the way through our three runs. We picked up time in our final run and we need to do more of that. We picked up speed on that last outing, but it just wasn’t enough. Guys beat us today and we ended up fourth. The Haas Automation Chevrolet was really good though. Let’s just make sure we have that balance after happy hour tomorrow.”

Becoming a member of Code 3 Associates via its Website, www.Code3Associates.org, is a free and easy way to rally and organize people in support of Code 3 Associates’ mission, which is animal rescue and recovery in disaster areas.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is Tony Stewart’s home track, as the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion hails from nearby Columbus, Indiana. Upon racing at the historic, 2.5-mile oval as a Sprint Cup rookie in 1999, Stewart has seemingly held a homefield advantage ever since with two wins (2005 and 2007), 227 laps led and, until Sunday, only two finishes outside of the top-12 in 15 career starts.

But when the green flag dropped on the 21st running of the Brickyard 400, homefield held no advantage for Stewart.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by winning the pole during qualifying for the 21stannual Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. It was the 18th Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s fifth this season.

Harvick turned a record lap of 47.753 seconds at 188.470 mph on the 2.5-mile oval in the final round of qualifying, breaking the previous track qualifying record of 47.992 seconds at 187.531 mph set by former SHR driver Ryan Newman on July 28, 2013. It was Harvick’s 10th career pole, his fourth this season and his second at Indianapolis. Prior to this year, the most poles Harvick ever won in a single season were two in 2005.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (July 23, 2014) – Tony Stewart knows what it means to be a big deal. Growing up in Indiana, he’s been surrounded by personalities who fit the bill, from fellow Hoosiers Larry Bird and John Mellencamp to the state-adopted personalities of Peyton Manning and Bobby Knight.

All are larger than life. All are kind of a big deal. It’s a fairly sacred fraternity – one that Stewart always admired but never imagined he would become a card-carrying member.

Tony Stewart endured an up-and-down day in the Camping World RV Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, and when the checkered flag dropped, Stewart was on his way up. The driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) rallied from 19th to seventh in the race’s last 50 laps to score his sixth top-10 this season and his 18th top-10 in 30 career Sprint Cup starts at New Hampshire.

“We went from holding our own at the beginning of the race to getting pretty beat up out there,” said Stewart, who qualified fourth, his best starting spot since winning the pole for the April 26 race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. “Finally, we just made a big change to get the front end of the car to bite. We honestly didn’t know how well it would work, but it beat running 20th.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by setting the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 27.786 seconds at 137.076 mph on the 1.058-mile oval in the final qualifying round.

“I’m actually pretty happy with that,” said Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup winner at New Hampshire (July 2000, July 2005 and September 2011). “Our Mobil 1 Chevy is good in race trim and now we’ve got a good starting spot and good pit selection.”

For example, it could be argued that it was a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time last Sunday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway when Stewart was taken out of contention in a multicar accident after having led just a handful of laps. Or it could be inferred that it was an instance of bad luck, leading credence to the notion that sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

But sometimes it’s just good to be good. And when it comes to racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, Stewart is good. Very good, in fact.

Stewart was collected in a multicar accident on lap 20 of what eventually became a 112-lap event when rain cut the race short of its scheduled 160-lap distance.

“The No. 17 car (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) got sideways on the lap that we’re all getting a competition caution,” said Stewart, a four-time winner of the Coke Zero 400 (2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012). “It didn’t make much sense to me. We were in good shape with our Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevy, so it’s just dumb to be in this position this early.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (July 2, 2014) – Duck, duck, goose. It’s a simple childhood game in which, after being tagged, the reluctant goose gives chase in the hopes of regaining the preferred status of a duck. It can go on and on with contestants making laps and taking turns at being both goose and duck.

While it is a guileless contest for kids, the concept is one that resonates when it comes to restrictor-plate racing. For example, multiple players will take their turn in the lead during Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. It’s where each driver hopes to be chased rather than be the chaser. In other words, it’s duck versus goose.

This weekend, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will play the role of the elusive duck in both name and game.

Tony Stewart used all 267 laps in Saturday night’s Kentucky 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta to rally his way to a solid 11th-place finish.

Despite qualifying 13th, Stewart had to relinquish that spot when his team was forced to change the transmission of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet SS prior to the race. NASCAR rules dictate that if such a change is made, the driver must start the race at the rear of the field. While Stewart was credited with a 13th-place starting spot, his real-world starting spot was 42nd.

When the green flag waved, Stewart began making immediate progress. After just 10 laps around the bumpy, 1.5-mile oval, he was 27th.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta by setting the fifth-fastest lap in qualifying for the Kentucky 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night. Harvick turned a lap of 29.016 seconds at 186.104 mph on the 1.5-mile oval.

“We kind of battled, and I think everybody has battled because this is just a tough racetrack to get a hold of,” said Harvick, who has one top-10 finish in three Sprint Cup starts at Kentucky. “We didn’t have a great first run, but we made it better every run and wound up with a top-five start. That’s a great improvement for our Budweiser team.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (June 25, 2014) – Leading during the closing laps of a race can be both a thrilling and anxiety-inducing experience. Drivers go through their mental checklists, making sure to hit their marks, and doing what they can to protect the lead while the team relays such pertinent information as “white flag, next time by” and “checkered flag, this time”. It’s all music to the ears of the potential victor.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has heard that music often. Forty-eight times, in fact, in the elite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in a career that now spans 16 years.

Stewart’s proficiency at closing the deal is evidenced by this fact: he has owned the lead when taking the white flag for all but two of his 48 career wins.

After starting 21st and falling to 25th after lap one of the 110-lap SaveMart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Tony Stewart quickly regrouped. With the opening-lap jousting over as the field became more strung out, Stewart set his sights on expertly navigating the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in California’s wine country.

Stewart wheeled his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS to 14th just past the race’s halfway mark and continued to climb as the race neared its end. With less than 25 laps to go, Stewart was sixth, and thanks to a lap-72 pit stop, was one of only a few drivers who could make it to the finish without pitting.

“It was a good lap for the Haas Automation Chevrolet,” said Busch, who won at Sonoma in 2011. “We prepared well for this race with a couple of test sessions and executed a good practice run yesterday. The lap time we ran put us P1 in the first practice. We knew we needed to gain a little more and today we got beat by a couple of guys that laid down really good laps.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (June 18, 2014) – “This is a story about control, my control. Control of what I say, control of what I do.”

That’s the opening monologue for the title track on pop icon Janet Jackson’s third album, “Control.” The independence-claiming anthem was released in 1986 and served as the vehicle for Jackson’s not-so subtle missive that she was taking charge of her life and career.

Although it was nearly 30 years ago when “Control” hit the airwaves, it’s possible Jackson was channeling her inner Tony Stewart.

Control is an instrument Stewart has successfully applied throughout his racing career, parlaying it into three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships and 48 career wins. And come Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Stewart seeks to control his chance to earn a fourth series title by winning his first race of the season, his third at Sonoma and his eighth on a road course.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn by winning the pole for the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Harvick turned a lap of 35.198 seconds at 204.557 mph around the 2-mile oval to set a new track record.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (June 11, 2014) – Tony Stewart knew from a very young age he wanted to drive racecars. Whether it was an innate yearning or an interest fostered through the support of his parents is a classic nature versus nurture debate best left to the humanities experts. All that mattered is a young Stewart enjoyed the thrill of competition and felt the need for speed.

That thirst for speed will be quenched this weekend at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, site of the Quicken Loans 400. In his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, Stewart will turn laps around the 2-mile oval in excess of 200 mph.

Tony Stewart looked to be the driver to beat in the Pocono 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, leading early and often. A pit road speeding penalty proved too costly to overcome for the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), but despite the setback, he was able to rally for a 13th-place finish at the aptly named “Tricky Triangle.

“It was 100 percent driver error,” said Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup winner at Pocono (June 2003 and June 2009). “I don’t know how I got through the (dashboard) lights like I did, but I got to where I blew through all the lights and didn’t have any on the (tachometer) so I had no clue that I was over it. I gave my guys grief last week with a sixth-place run when I thought we should have run in the top-three. Then I threw it away this week. We had an awesome Mobil 1 Chevy all day, all from Friday through Sunday, so it was a great race. The driver just screwed it up this week.”

“We came here with a new approach and to try to get out front to settle into the race track a little better,” said Busch, a two-time Sprint Cup winner at Pocono (July 2005 and August 2007). “And this track can lead into finding some comfort with how smooth it is from the repave. I was really surprised that we had the speed for the pole today with our Haas Automation Chevy on just our first attempt at trying something a little different. So, it’s great to cash in.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (June 4, 2014) – Brussels sprouts rarely make an appearance on anyone’s list of favorite foods. And why would they? They’re a leafy, green vegetable that, depending on how they’re prepared, can have a questionable texture and bitter taste. Yet, they’re packed with nutrients, including anticancer properties, earning them “it’s good for you” status from generations of moms.

Like Brussels sprouts, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway rarely ranks at the top of a driver’s list of favorite tracks. However, it is a venue that has an “it’s good for you” effect for a handful of drivers who have mastered the track’s distinctive design.

Tony Stewart finished seventh in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway to nab his fifth top-10 this season and his 17th top-10 in 30 career Sprint Cup starts at Dover.

Stewart came into the 400-lap race around the 1-mile, concrete oval as the defending winner, as he beat Juan Pablo Montoya by .788 of a second to score his 48th career Sprint Cup victory in last year’s race. That was also the most recent win for Stewart, and it came in his No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

“The car was just too free to get the lap we needed in qualifying,” said Harvick, who has three top-fives and 12 top-10s in 26 career Sprint Cup starts at Dover. “Overall, the Budweiser Chevy was fast in race trim this morning, so we’ll just work on that a bit more tomorrow to get it ready for Sunday.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 28, 2014) – Tony Stewart’s last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win came 36 races ago at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Wheeling a black and yellow No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), Stewart started 22nd and captured victory by way of a late-race pit call, where a two-tire pit stop with just 19 laps remaining put him in position for the win. Stewart took the lead for the first time on lap 398 of the 400-lap race and never looked back. It was Stewart’s 48th career Sprint Cup win and his third at the concrete, 1-mile oval.

This weekend, Stewart returns to Dover as the defending winner of the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks. And much like last year when he came into Round No. 13 on the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule, Stewart is looking for a jumpstart to his season.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is rarely satisfied with a finish that doesn’t end up in victory lane. But the 16-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran is also savvy enough to know when true progress is being made, and Stewart saw that in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Despite a 13th-place finish in the series’ longest race, Stewart saw the bigger picture, declaring with 20 laps still remaining in the 400-lap marathon around the 1.5-mile oval, “I don’t care how this ends up. We are 1,000 percent better than we were a week ago.”

Patrick turned a lap of 27.931 seconds at 193.334 mph around the 1.5-mile oval to notch her best Sprint Cup qualifying effort at a non-restrictor plate race. Patrick’s previous best Sprint Cup qualifying run at a non-restrictor plate track came one race ago at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, where she qualified ninth.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 21, 2014) – Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, is a 16-year veteran of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but his racing roots aren’t in stock cars, they’re in open-wheel machines, the pinnacle of which is the Indianapolis 500.

Stewart made a name for himself in the rough-and-tumble world of the United States Auto Club (USAC), home to numerous open-wheel divisions that has served as a ladder system to the Indianapolis 500 for decades. Stewart has four USAC championships, including what at the time was an unprecedented win of USAC’s “Triple Crown.”

Tony Stewart had a relatively quiet night in the 30th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Saturday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), started 15th and finished 12th in the annual non-points race featuring drivers who met one of the following criteria:

· Won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2013 or 2014.

· Is a past All-Star Race winner.

· Is a Sprint Cup champion from the past 10 years.

· Won Friday night’s Sprint Showdown.

· Was the runner-up in the Sprint Showdown.

· Won the Sprint Fan Vote.

The 90-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval was broken up into five segments of 20 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps and 10 laps and featured a 22-driver field. Throughout the race, Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet battled a loose-handling condition.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 14, 2014) – Believe it or not, Tony Stewart’s first win as a driver/owner with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) came five years ago in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Stewart didn’t lead the most laps in that memorable first victory for SHR, but he led the most important ones. Stewart paced the final two circuits around the 1.5-mile oval after overtaking Matt Kenseth for the lead on lap 98 of the 100-lap event. Stewart’s margin of victory over the 2003 Sprint Cup champion was .971 of a second.

Tony Stewart’s weekend at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City was a series of ups and downs, and it ended on Saturday night with a 20th-place finish in the 5-hour-Energy 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

In the first Sprint Cup practice on Friday, Stewart was a lowly 31st on the speed charts. But after some serious troubleshooting, Stewart and Co. emerged for final Sprint Cup practice with an improved chassis setup. It was so improved, it allowed Stewart to set the quickest time in final practice. From nearly worst to first, Stewart carried that momentum into qualifying, where he placed his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) eighth in the 43-car field.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City by winning the pole for Saturday night’s 5-hour Energy 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick turned a lap of 27.799 seconds at 194.658 mph on the 1.5-mile oval to set a new track record.

It was Harvick’s eighth career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his second at Kansas. The only other time Harvick won two poles in a single season was 2005. Harvick won the pole three races ago at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The last three races where Harvick has won the pole, he’s gone on to win the race – September 2006 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, October 2013 at Kansas and April 2014 at Darlington.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 7, 2014) – Tony Stewart is a fan of progressive rock, be it of the powerhouse band “Kansas” that was formed in Topeka in the early 1970s, to the rock that was unearthed at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City back in 2012 to make way for progressive banking.

Stewart, whose iPod is as eclectic as his racing resume, has earned 48 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins, and they’ve come at every type of track on the NASCAR schedule. Intermediate tracks. Short tracks. High-banked tracks. Flat tracks. Superspeedways. Road courses. Name it and Stewart has won on it, including the two tracks that also recently incorporated progressive banking – Homestead-Miami Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In fact, two of Stewart’s last four Sprint Cup victories have come at progressively-banked tracks – 2011 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and 2013 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Restrictor-plate racing is an anomaly in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where drivers’ destinies are not always in their control and they must rely on others to help push them to the front and keep their racecars straight.

When an accident happens, it typically consumes multiple cars, and on lap 137 of the Aaron’s 499 Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Tony Stewart was collected in a wreck not of his making.

When Brad Keselowski, despite being six laps down, was racing among the lead pack and lost control, his spinning racecar set off a chain reaction crash that collected 13 others, including Stewart and his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet SS of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

“It was an experience,” said Patrick of knockout qualifying at a restrictor-plate track, where drivers had to use the draft to set a fast time. “We weren’t in a bad spot right there at the end, but we needed one more lap.”

Well before Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin made “conscious uncoupling” mainstream, NASCAR introduced the Gen-6 racecar in 2013 and consciously uncoupled the tandem draft, which had been prevalent at its two restrictor-plate racetracks – Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – since 2011.

The new car’s uneven front and rear bumpers made the practice of tandem drafting almost impossible, as the nose of a car pushing against the lead car’s rear bumper didn’t match up, and if the issue was especially forced, the lead car would be sent spinning. It ended up creating a strained relationship.

With three wins, four second-place finishes, 11 top-fives and 19 top-10s in 30 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Tony Stewart has high expectations anytime he visits the .75-mile oval. That’s why after battling an ill-handling racecar throughout Saturday night’s Richmond 400, Stewart was none too pleased with his 25th-place finish.

In posting the second-quickest time in Friday’s final practice session, Stewart and his Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 team of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) felt confident of their chances going into Saturday night’s 400-lap contest.

Rain canceled today’s qualifying session for the Richmond 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race atRichmond (Va.) International Raceway. As a result, the 43-car field for Saturday night’s 400-lap event around the .75-mile oval was set by taking the fastest lap each driver posted during Friday’s first practice session, per the NASCAR rulebook.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 24, 2014) – Tony Stewart likes to win. As both a driver and an owner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, winning is something he’s been able to do. Repeatedly.

As a driver, Stewart has scored 48 point-paying victories along with a trio of Sprint Cup championships. Since partnering with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas to form Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2009, Stewart has earned 22 point-paying Sprint Cup wins as an owner, the most recent of which came April 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway via Kevin Harvick.

SHR has won three of the first eight races of the 2014 Sprint Cup season. Prior to Darlington, Harvick won March 2 at Phoenix International Raceway. And in between those wins was Kurt Busch’s victory March 30 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. SHR, in just its sixth season, leads all NASCAR teams in wins in 2014.

At one point in the Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Tony Stewart was two laps down and outside the top-25. But when the checkered flag waved on the 65th annual race at the venerable 1.366-mile oval, Stewart was ninth.

It was an incredible rally for Stewart, crew chief Chad Johnston and the entire No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR.) It was the group’s fourth top-10 of the season and it moved Stewart up two spots in the championship point standings to 12th.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway by winning the pole for Saturday night’s Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick turned a lap of 26.802 seconds at 183.479 mph on the 1.366-mile oval in the final round of knockout qualifying.

It was Harvick’s seventh career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his first at Darlington. Harvick last won a Sprint Cup pole at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on Oct. 4, 2013, 13 races ago. It was also the 15th Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s second straight, as Tony Stewart won the pole last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 10, 2014) – Sports tend to exude rich history steeped in tradition. This week two different sports visit venues where their respective roots run deep.

One of the most nostalgic and iconic events in all of sports is taking place this week as golf makes its annual trek to a venue matched in status by the contest it hosts – the Masters at Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club. Augusta National, designed by golfing legend Bobby Jones in 1932, is one of those rare venues that transcends its sport. The green jacket awarded annually to the Masters winner is one of the most coveted prizes in all of sports.

Matching the historical significance of Augusta National is another iconic venue that lies a mere 145 miles north on Interstate 20, except instead of blooming azaleas lining its confines, a red-and-white checkered wall lines one’s path to glory.

Tony Stewart scored a solid top-10 finish in the rain-postponed Duck Commander 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Monday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It was his third top-10 of 2014 and his 13th top-10 in 24 career Sprint Cup starts at Texas.

Stewart led the first 24 laps from the pole, the initial 10 being run under caution as NASCAR worked to confirm the track was properly dry after rain inundated the 1.5-mile oval on Sunday, which forced the race to be run on Monday.

It was Stewart’s 15th career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his second at Texas. Stewart’s last pole came 53 races ago on Aug. 31, 2012 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was also the 14th Sprint Cup pole for SHR since its inception in 2009.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 3, 2014) – Advantages are hard to come by in the ultra-competitive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Through the first six races of the 2014 season, six different drivers have gone to victory lane, which means teams are placing a high, albeit discreet, premium on any technological nuance that provides a competitive edge.

For Tony Stewart, there is nothing subtle about his advantage.

As a technology partner of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), Mobil 1 is more than just a decal emblazoned across the hood of Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet SS. Led by Stewart, SHR’s stable of drivers serve as the ultimate field testers, helping Mobil 1 improve the quality of its product.

Tony Stewart soldiered to a 17th-place finish in the STP 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The result boosted him two spots in the championship point standings to 15thsix races into the 36-race season.

Stewart started seventh in the 500-lap race around the rough-and-tumble .526-mile oval and kept his No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS among the top-10 for the first 75 laps. But a tight-handling condition in the center of the corners abetted a lack of forward bite off the corners, and it quicklymetastasized as the race wore on, dropping Stewart outside the top-20 after 100 laps.

“I’m pretty happy. Code 3 Associates is on our car this week and the last time I drove their car, we won at Dover last year. Excited for them and excited for us,” said Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup winner at Martinsville (October 2000, April 2006 and October 2011). “We’re battling weather here this weekend. It was supposed to rain out today and we got that in. Now they’re saying it might rain out tomorrow. If that does happen, I’m kind of comfortable with what we’ve got if we have to go straight to the race. We’ve got some things we can do to make it a little better, but all in all, our Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet is a pretty balanced racecar.”

Code 3 Associates (www.Code3Associates.org) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization specializing in animal rescue and recovery in disaster areas and is a partner of Stewart-Haas Racing, the Sprint Cup team Stewart co-owns with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. The continued operation of Code 3 Associates relies totally on the generosity of donors and bravery of its responders. Membership educates the populace on pet preparedness during disasters, lends a larger voice to animal-related legislation and policy, and supports first-responder and officer training across the United States. Learn more at Code 3 Associates’ Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1hisA98

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 27, 2014) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers see highs and lows throughout the course of a season. More often than not, the glory of the highs is found in shifting from the lows.

Much like the Tideway in England’s famed River Thames, where the tide rises and falls twice a day by up to 24 feet, Tony Stewart has experienced his share of tidal activity in the first five races of 2014. Finishes of 35th, 16th and 33rd to start the season have been offset by back-to-back top-fives, righting his ship as it sails upward in points from 32nd to 17th.

For the second straight week, Tony Stewart and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team faced adversity. And for the second straight week, Stewart and Co. overcame it, earning their second straight top-five finish.

Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Stewart overcame a midrace spin that dropped him to last in the 43-car field. But just like last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway where Stewart finished fourth, a tenacious drive coupled with savvy pit strategy brought Stewart’s No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet home fifth in the Auto Club 400.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., by setting the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick turned a lap of 38.523 seconds at 186.901 mph on the 2-mile oval.

“Just hitting a lap, time after time is the thing here, especially when you run high like that,” said Harvick, who won at Fontana in 2011. “I overdrove it around (Turn) 2 and under drove it around (Turn) 3, but giving up a tenth was a lot better than giving up four (tenths). All in all, we’re pretty happy with our Jimmy John’s Chevy. That’s the first time that we’ve made it to the final round of qualifying since this new knockout system was implemented.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 19, 2014) – In more ways than one, this week is a rush for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Teams rushed to get back from what turned out to be a Sunday night race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway as rain pushed the afternoon race to a primetime affair. The four-car SHR operation diligently rushed to turn cars, equipment and trucks around for the trip to the left coast for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. – the third western race of the very young 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

And the rush won’t stop once SHR finally touches down in Southern California. Tony Stewart will make sure of it.

Tony Stewart earned his best result of the still young 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season by finishing fourth in the rain-delayed Food City 500 Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

It was an impressive outing considering Stewart started the race 37th in the 43-car field. His No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) was a handful on Friday in the weekend’s opening practice, and that day’s qualifying session proved no better. But in the two practices on Saturday, Stewart and crew chief Chad Johnston made incremental gains, and they ended the final practice session with a Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy that had a fighting chance for Sunday.

“When you’re measuring things by thousands of a second, it’s so tight,” said Busch, who has five Sprint Cup wins at Bristol (March 2002, March 2003, August 2003, March 2004 and March 2006). “We went out too early in that first run. We ran a .78 in practice in our Haas Automation Chevy and we backed that up with a .95. That’s not what you need to do.”

Stewart’s toughness has been on display for the last six months as the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has come back from a severely broken right leg suffered in a sprint car crash last August. Stewart has undergone three surgeries, endless physical rehabilitation and the pain associated with each.

The best view Tony Stewart had of Las Vegas Motor Speedway was in his rearview mirror as he left the 1.5-mile oval on Sunday following the Kobalt 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

The 267-lap contest was a forgettable one for Stewart. His No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS proved to be a handful throughout the two-and-a-half-hour race.

“Loose” is how Stewart constantly described his racecar, and no matter what crew chief Chad Johnston did in an attempt to solve the car’s ill-handling ways, nothing made a lasting impact. Stewart ended the race in 33rd position, four laps down.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by setting the 16th-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’sKobalt 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick turned a lap of 28.184 seconds at 191.598 mph on the 1.5-mile oval in the second qualifying round.

“We struggled in qualifying trim,” said Harvick, who has three top-five finishes in 13 Sprint Cup starts at Las Vegas. “We struggled in race trim, too, but we got a lot better in Thursday’s test and the practices earlier today. We had a vibration in the center of the corners and that killed our speed off the corners. The Jimmy John’s Chevrolet is really good in race trim, so we’re happy with where we’re at.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 5, 2014) – When Tony Stewart comes to Las Vegas, he comes to win. The difference between Stewart and most others who come to Sin City is that Stewart actually emerges victorious, be it on the racetrack or on the tables of the MGM Grand.

Stewart is a savvy poker player, and that works well for him behind the wheel of a racecar too. The driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has 48 career wins, and among that tally is a 2012 victory at Las Vegas.

Tony Stewart had a solid top-10 finish in his grasp Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway until an ill-timed caution with less than 65 laps remaining in The Profit on CNBC 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race left Stewart with a 16th-place finish.

Stewart had piloted his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS from 20th in the 43-car field to as high as eighth on lap 235 of the 312-lap race. A routine, green-flag pit stop on lap 237 for four tires and fuel set Stewart up for a strong run to the finish.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Friday at Phoenix International Raceway by setting the 10th-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s The Profit on CNBC 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Busch turned a lap of 26.078 seconds at 138.047 mph on the 1-mile oval in the final qualifying round.

“A top-10 start is good, but we wanted better,” said Busch, who won at Phoenix in 2005. “We had the Haas Automation Chevrolet up to fourth in the first session and had a plan in place to make a run at the top-five in the second session. We made a small air pressure adjustment that we thought might get us there, but unfortunately it made it so we couldn’t rotate the center of the corner and that hurt us. We’ll be fine. We have some work to do in race trim, so hopefully we get some practice time tomorrow, but we’ll be in a good spot when it’s time to race.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Feb. 26, 2014) – After missing the final 15 races of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with a broken right leg, Tony Stewart climbed back in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS last week at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway without missing a beat.

He drove in three races – the Sprint Unlimited, Budweiser Duel and Daytona 500 – and each time he sat behind the wheel, Stewart likened the comfort of his seat to an old pair of tennis shoes.

With Daytona behind Stewart and Phoenix International Raceway next up for the three-time Sprint Cup champion, Stewart ratchets up his comfort level.

After a six-hour and 22-minute rain delay subdued the momentum of the 56th Daytona 500, a fuel pressure issue subdued Tony Stewart’s run in the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. He finished 35th.

The problem reared its head on lap 94 when Stewart radioed to crew chief Chad Johnston that his fuel gauge was “jumping all around” and that his engine “laid down” on exit of the track’s corners. Stewart tried to wait the problem out until a caution appeared, but the problem worsened and Stewart was forced to pit under green on lap 101 of the 200-lap race.

With little to gain and everything to lose, Tony Stewart took a smart and conservative approach in the Budweiser Duel Thursday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, twin qualifying races that set the 43-car field for the season-opening Daytona 500.

Already having to start at the back of 56th Daytona 500 on Sunday, Stewart knew risking his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for a strong finish in his Budweiser Duel race offered little reward. An unapproved engine change on Saturday prior to qualifying meant Stewart would start at the back of the 43-car Daytona 500 field, no matter his finish in the Budweiser Duel. But Stewart still had to race and earn at least a top-15 finish to ensure that his new-for-2014-teammate, Kurt Busch, would make the Daytona 500.

After waiting nearly seven months to get back in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS and race, Tony Stewart didn’t waste any time getting racy in the Sprint Unlimited Saturday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Stewart, who broke his right leg in a sprint car crash on Aug. 5, 2013, waited only five laps before ducking to the inside lane to see how his car would react in the draft. For the next 30 laps, Stewart ebbed and flowed with the draft, dropping to as low as 17th before running as high as third.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Feb. 11, 2014) – With snow falling as teams departed North Carolina for the warmth of Daytona Beach, Fla., the summer of 2013 seemed a long time ago, where hot and humid days ran together.

But there’s one date in particular – Monday, Aug. 5 – that stands out for those at Stewart-Haas Racing and the NASCAR industry as a whole. It was late in the evening when at a dirt track in Iowa, Tony Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS he co-owns with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas, crashed his sprint car and flipped, breaking his right tibia and fibula.

Crew Chiefs Officially Named for 2014 Season

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Nov. 19, 2013) – Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has reorganized its competition department as the championship-winning race team expands to field four cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2014. The changes are as follows:

•Greg Zipadelli has been named vice president of competition where he will manage all four Sprint Cup teams, with each crew chief reporting to him.

•Matt Borland has been named vice president of engineering. In this role, Borland will oversee all of the team’s technical initiatives and various research and development projects. He will also transition from being an active crew chief to that of a mentor, specifically in regard to the crew chief position on the No. 41 Haas Automation team of driver Kurt Busch.

•Daniel Knost has been promoted from race engineer on the No. 39 team to crew chief for the No. 41 Haas Automation team with Busch. Knost joined SHR in 2008 when it was Haas-CNC Racing after earning master of science and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Knost graduated from North Carolina State University in Raleigh with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering in 2001.

In his six-year tenure with SHR, Knost has run the team’s seven-post shaker rig and assisted with at-track simulation support from 2008 through 2011. He became the race engineer for SHR’s No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet and driver Danica Patrick for eight races during its limited schedule in 2012 before moving to the No. 39 team in the same role.

•Chad Johnston has been named crew chief for the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team of three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. Johnston comes to SHR from Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) where since June 2011 he was the crew chief for the No. 56 team and driver Martin Truex Jr. Johnston joined MWR in 2010 as a race engineer. Johnston replaces Steve Addington, who has left SHR to pursue other opportunities.

Like Stewart, Johnston is an Indiana native. The two have worked together previously, as Johnston was the race engineer for the Morgan-Dollar Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team in 2004-2005 where Stewart competed in three races, scoring two top-three finishes.

Johnston graduated from Indiana State University in 2003 with a mechanical engineering degree.

•Rodney Childers will be the crew chief for the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s team of driver Kevin Harvick. Childers joined SHR in late October from MWR, where since 2009 he was a crew chief, first with the No. 00 team of driver David Reutimann (2009-2011) and later with the No. 55 team of drivers Brian Vickers, Mark Martin and Waltrip (2012-2013). Childers has been a crew chief since June 2005 when he was at MB2/MBV Motorsports with driver Scott Riggs.

•Tony Gibson remains as crew chief for the No. 10 GoDaddy team of Patrick.

“Our greatest asset at Stewart-Haas Racing is our people,” said Stewart, co-owner of SHR with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. “Obviously, there is a lot of change happening for 2014 as we grow to four teams and bring in Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch. But with our new management structure and the crew chiefs we have in place, we’re well positioned to handle whatever challenges come our way. Collectively, we have the experience and wherewithal necessary for each of our teams to perform at the highest level possible.”

“In Haas Automation, we built the largest, most modern machine tool manufacturing operation in the United States. And the company’s philosophy of Bigger, Better, Faster, Lighter is also employed by Stewart-Haas Racing,” Haas said. “Bigger, Better, Faster, Lighter is what we strive for in the machining industry and it’s what we strive for in motorsports. This reorganization seamlessly marries our engineering expertise with our collective racing experience.”

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The team fields four entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart, the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Danica Patrick, the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick and the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Kurt Busch. Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with approximately 250 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing and follow on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Oct. 7, 2013) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart underwent a third surgery on his right leg early on Monday, Oct. 7 to examine and close a wound on his shin stemming from the broken tibia and fibula he sustained in a sprint car crash Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Aug. 19, 2013) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart is out for the remainder of the 2013 season after suffering a broken right tibia and fibula in a sprint car crash Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup champion, is expected to return to the seat of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in time for pre-season testing in January 2014.

In the interim, Mark Martin will drive the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Aug. 23-24 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and in 11 other races. Austin Dillon, the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion who filled in for Stewart this past weekend at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and finished 14th in his 10th career Sprint Cup start, will drive the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Oct. 18-20 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

The first surgery, whichhappened early Tuesday, Aug. 6 in Iowa, served as a preliminary procedure tostabilize and clean the Grade 2 injury. The second surgery, by a specialist inNorth Carolina, involved inserting a metal rod inside the tibia, pressing it toits anatomic position.

Stewart will remainhospitalized for observation. A discharge date has not been determined.

The surgery served as a preliminary procedure to stabilize and clean the Grade 2 injury. A second surgery will be necessary. In the meantime, Stewart will remain hospitalized for observation.

Stewart was leading the 30-lap American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) feature when a lapped car spun in front of him. Stewart hit the lapped car and flipped.

Stewart’s injury will prevent him from competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event Aug. 9-11 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Veteran racer Max Papis will serve as the interim driver for Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet at Watkins Glen. Papis tested the No. 14 Chevrolet on July 30 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.

Papis has made 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, with a career-best finish of eighth in 2009 at Watkins Glen. He has competed in Formula One, Indy car, sports cars and other NASCAR divisions, including the Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and Canadian Tire Series. He is a three-time CART race winner and a seven-time winner in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, which includes a Daytona Prototype victory at Watkins Glen in the 2004 Sahlen’s Sports Car Grand Prix. Papis won the 2004 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series championship with co-driver Scott Pruett and is a two-time winner of the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona (2000 and 2002). Papis, 43, is from Como, Italy, and is a political science graduate of Milan University. He resides in Mooresville, N.C., with his wife, Tatiana, and sons, Marco and Matteo.

Stewart was transported to a local hospital immediately following the accident and underwent surgery. An injury update will be provided later this afternoon.

A scheduled test for today at Atlanta Motor Speedway has been canceled. A replacement driver for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International has not been determined. Information regarding the No. 14 team’s driver status at Watkins Glen will be provided once it is known.

A little teamwork can often go a long way, and Tony Stewart put that theory to the test Sunday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Stewart, driver of the No. 14 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), overcome a pit road speeding penalty to score a ninth-place finish in the GoBowling.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was his 22nd top-10 finish in 30 career Sprint Cup starts at the 2.5-mile triangle.

“We got here today thanks to good strategy by the crew chief because the driver screwed up today,” said Stewart, who picked up his eighth top-10 finish of the 2013 season. “I got us the pit road speeding penalty and put us in the back. Steve’s (Addington, crew chief) pretty keen on the pit strategy and what to do to get us back up there. He got us back the track position; I just was a little too tight to stay there. It was a long day, but we’re glad to have a good day for GoDaddy, Mobil 1, Bass Pro Shops and Chevrolet. We had a solid day, and we’ve just got to keep clicking them off like this.”

“It was a good run,” said Newman, who won at Pocono in July 2003. “It was just an amazing effort in turning this Haas Automation Chevrolet around from Indianapolis (where Newman won). We picked up over a second from what we practiced. Awesome job by the guys.”

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, will start 20th after posting a lap of 50.553 seconds at 178.031 mph.

“It wasn’t the lap we had hoped for, but we feel like we have a good piece in race trim,” said Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup winner at Pocono (June 2003 and June 2009). “We’ll know more tomorrow after practice, but we feel pretty good about our GoDaddy Chevy for Sunday.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (July 31, 2013) – To attack is to take action with purpose and vigor, and it perfectly describes Tony Stewart’s plan for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he will pilot the No. 14 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in the GoBowling.com 400.

With six races remaining before the start of the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Stewart and Co. find themselves in control of the wild-card race thanks to their June 2 victory at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and their 11th-place point standing. But giving them even more control of their championship aspirations would be to ascend into the top-10 points, for those drivers among the top-10 are locked into the 10-race Chase following the Sept. 7 cutoff race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Positions 11 and 12 in the Chase are wild cards, awarded to the two drivers between 11th and 20th in points with the most wins. Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., and Ryan Newman are the only drivers between 11th and 20th in points with a victory. Since Stewart and Truex Jr., sit 11th and 12th, respectively, in the standings, they hold the first and second wild-card spots.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS, started fifth and finished fourth to earn his seventh top-five and 11th top-10 in 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Indianapolis. It was also his fifth top-five and seventh top-10 this season.

Newman turned a lap of 47.992 seconds at 187.531 mph on the 2.5-mile oval, breaking the previous Sprint Cup track qualifying record of 48.311 seconds at 186.293 mph set by Casey Mears on Aug. 7, 2004. This is Newman’s 50thcareer pole, his first of the season and his first at Indianapolis. Newman is the ninth driver in Sprint Cup history to earn at least 50 poles.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 25, 2013) – Racecar drivers collect numerous mementos during the course of their respective careers, from helmets and firesuits to chunks of asphalt and steering wheels, and when they reach the end of their careers – rocking chairs. But of all the knickknacks drivers pick up as they rise from upstart rookie to cagey veteran, ones from the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway are perhaps the most coveted.

That the speedway recently celebrated its centennial era has much to do with drivers’ reverence for the 2.5-mile oval. It’s been hosting automobile races since 1909, and not just any race, but the Indianapolis 500. And because of its archaic – at least in racing terms – lineage, parts of Indy’s surface, namely the frontstretch, remained clad in bricks until 1961 when asphalt was spread across all but a three-foot strip at the track’s start/finish line. Hence, it’s nickname – the Brickyard – and why so many drivers’ bric-a-brac collections contain an old brick from the Wabash Clay Company, the Veedersburg, Ind.-based company that supplied nearly all those “Culver Blocks” on which legends tread.

Tony Stewart was poised to earn another strong result Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon when the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS lined up in second place for a green-white-checkered finish in the Camping World RV Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Even if Stewart, already a three-time Sprint Cup race winner at New Hampshire (July 2000, July 2005 and September 2011), couldn’t beat race-leader Brian Vickers for the victory, he appeared ready to hold off third-place Kyle Busch.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 WIX Filters Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by qualifying 16th for the Camping World RV Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Newman turned a lap of 28.245 seconds at 134.849 mph on the 1.058-mile oval.

“That was a pretty good effort,” said Newman, who has three Sprint Cup wins at New Hampshire (September 2002, September 2005 and July 2011). “The second lap was better than the first. The car was a lot better than we practiced, I can tell you that. We spent first practice working on qualifying runs, so the guys will change our WIX Filters Chevrolet over to race trim tonight and we’ll work on race runs in tomorrow’s practice sessions.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Tony Stewart is back in black. The No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS he drives for Stewart-Haas Racing is all black for this weekend’s Camping World RV Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

It’s a fitting paint scheme since Stewart is often lights out in Loudon. And the mood of Stewart’s competitors typically darkens whenever the three-time Sprint Cup champion walks into the Granite State’s garage area.

Stewart came into the event as the four-time and defending race winner. A fifth Coke Zero 400 win would’ve tied Stewart with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson. Stewart came up .107 of a second short to race winner Jimmie Johnson in a green-white-checkered finish.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway by qualifying 11th for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night. Patrick turned a lap of 46.649 seconds at 192.930 mph around the 2.5-mile oval.

“It wasn’t the pole, but it gives us a decent starting spot,” said Patrick, who finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500 after starting from the pole. “We found some ways to get the GoDaddy Chevy better in practice yesterday and that should help us in the race.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 3, 2013) – “Have you ever seen a flock of ducks flying in perfect formation? It’s beautiful. Pretty awesome the way they all stick together. Ducks never say die. Ever see a duck fight? No way. Why? Because the other animals are afraid. They know if they mess with one duck, they gotta deal with the whole flock. I’m proud to be a Duck, and I’d be proud to fly with any one of you. So how about it? Who’s a Duck?”

Emilio Estevez’s character Gordon Bombay delivered that speech in the popular 1992 sports comedy “The Mighty Ducks” in an attempt to encourage his team of young players to exercise a little teamwork, similar in style to a flock of ducks working in tandem to achieve a common goal. The result was a victory in the state championship match against the film’s antagonist team, the Hawks. The message was the modern equivalent of Greek philosopher Aristotle’s famous missive that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta by qualifying seventh for the Kentucky 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night. Newman turned a lap of 29.629 seconds at 182.254 mph around the 1.5-mile oval.

“I told my guys that catching a cloud wasn’t going to be good enough,” said Newman, who finished fourth in the inaugural Sprint Cup race at Kentucky in 2011. “I was impressed with the effort the guys made with the Quicken Loans Chevrolet. We picked up on it. Definitely feel that a little bit of cloud cover didn’t hurt us. We made some improvements and we beat a lot of cars that beat us in practice. We’ll keep working on it.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (June 26, 2013) – Ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties aren’t the only things that go bump in the night. Kentucky Speedway in Sparta also is home to things that go bump in the night, namely, 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers thundering over the bumps that cover the surface of the 1.5-mile oval.

All tracks have character – subtle undulations and grooves that set it apart from its counterparts. But Kentucky’s surface is the X-Games of paved tracks – edgy and in-your-face. There is no avoiding the bumps. Navigate them wrong, and they’ll make you a part of a spark-filled highlight reel.

Tony Stewart was headed toward a top-10 finish in a rough-and-tumble Toyota/SaveMart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway until a run-in with Jeff Burton 18 laps from the finish. The collision in the treacherous turn 11 turned Stewart sideways and dropped him from ninth to 28th when the checkered flag waved.

“Just too many mistakes today,” said a subdued Stewart after completing all 110 laps around the 1.99-mile road course.

The finish ended a strong streak for Stewart, the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). He came into Sonoma with four straight top-10 finishes, including a win June 2 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, that vaulted him from 21st in the championship standings to 10th.

“We’re definitely getting better,” said Stewart, who is a two-time winner at Sonoma (2001 and 2005). “We’ve made gains each time we’ve been on the racetrack. And compared to where we’ve started in years past, we’re actually ahead of the game this year. Steve (Addington, crew chief) and the guys have worked really hard – here and at the shop – to bring a Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy that we’ll be able to work with on Sunday.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Sonoma, Calif., is a vigorous grape-producing countryside at the center of the state’s robust wine industry, considered by many to be the birthplace of wine-making in the Golden State. Together with neighboring Napa, Calif., they produce what is widely regarded as some of the world’s finest wines. Playing no small part in placing Northern California in its esteemed place in the field of wine production was the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting, better known as the Judgment of Paris.

The Judgment of Paris was a blind wine tasting that pitted California’s best offerings against French wines, recognized by most of the world as untouchable, at least at the time. It wasn’t supposed to be a contest at all. California’s burgeoning wine makers were not supposed to be able to hold a candle to the superlative works of France’s finest, but those supercilious opinions couldn’t hold up in the field of play as California wines took first place in both red and white categories, laying the groundwork for the thriving industry that exists today.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. But Tony Stewart was a little bit of both Sunday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where he earned a hard-fought fifth-place finish in the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Driving a backup car, Stewart started 14th and overcame a weekend full of handling issues in the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to score his 12th top-five in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at the 2-mile oval.

“I think we definitely got a lot of luck there at the end, but we’ll definitely take it because we haven’t had much to this point in the year,” said Stewart, the 2000 winner of the June race at Michigan. “A caution came out at the right time, and we got a good restart. Two of the guys ahead of us – one had fuel trouble and one had a tire issue – so we got some breaks going our way today. It was a good weekend for me (after) putting us in a hole as far as I did on Friday crashing our primary car. But I’m proud of these guys, and I’m definitely proud of the effort this week. I thought our guys did a good job.”

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn by qualifying 14th for the Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Stewart turned a lap of 36.038 seconds at 199.789 mph around the 2-mile oval.

Stewart was forced to qualify his backup car after he crashed his primary car minutes into the opening practice. “I needed help in (turns) one and two on the first lap and then three and four on the second lap, but considering the hole I put us in to start the day, I’m pretty happy with that,” said Stewart, who won at Michigan in June 2000. “The guys on this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet team busted their butts today and I’m really proud of the effort everyone gave to get the backup car ready. I think we’re in pretty good shape for the rest of the weekend.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (June 12, 2013) – Home court. Home turf. Home field. All are terms used when explaining the psychological advantage that exists for home teams competing in traditional stick-and-ball sports. It’s a theory that doesn’t usually apply to teams competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

But the Quicken Loans 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn will be pretty close to a home game for Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). And given the roll the team is on, a little “home track” advantage may be just the perfect boost to keep the energy going.

Tony Stewart may get down, but he should never be counted out. Stewart, the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), delivered that message last week with a victory at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and then backed it up Sunday with an impressive fourth-place effort in the Party in the Poconos 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

Stewart started 19th in the 43-car field Sunday and made an impressive save after a late-race run-in with Brad Keselowski to bounce back for his third top-10 in as many races.

Rain canceled today’s qualifying session for the Party in the Poconos 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Because teams did not practice Friday, the 43-car field for Sunday’s 160-lap race was set by current owner points per the NASCAR rulebook.

The three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion earned his third title in 2011 because his timing was impeccable. Five wins in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup propelled Stewart from ninth when the Chase started to first when it ended. Winless in the 26 races prior to the Chase, Stewart found his groove when it mattered most.

Last Sunday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Stewart again displayed his knack for timing.

In the 12 Sprint Cup races prior to Dover, Stewart had only two top-10s with a season-best finish of seventh the race before at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He was mired an uncharacteristic 20th in points, and with Dover serving as Round No. 13 on the 36-race schedule, conventional wisdom said that Stewart was in for more frustration. In his last five races at Dover, Stewart’s best finish was 20th.

But with 12 laps to go in the 400-lap race around the mile-long, concrete oval, Stewart was in second place, reeling in leader Juan Pablo Montoya. On lap 398, Stewart passed the former Formula 1 race winner and drove off to his 48th career Sprint Cup win and his third at Dover, extending his streak of winning at least one race in each of his 15 years in Sprint Cup – the longest such streak among active drivers.

The victory vaulted Stewart to 16th in the championship standings, placing him only 33 points outside the top-10. And as the only driver between 11th and 20th in points with a victory, Stewart is on track to make the 12-driver Chase because he currently holds the first of two wild card spots awarded to a race winner outside the top-10 but among the top-20 in points.

Stewart’s win at Dover reminded everyone he’s still a threat to win no matter the circumstances. It was also a reminder that summer has begun. Of Stewart’s 48 career Sprint Cup victories, only six have come before June.

Now Pocono (Pa.) Raceway is next up for Stewart, a track where he has won twice, each time in June (2003 and 2009).

The 2.5-mile triangular layout is aptly called the “Tricky Triangle”. It’s proven troublesome for some, but not for Stewart, who came to NASCAR from the open-wheel ranks of USAC and the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Designed by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Rodger Ward, Pocono is unlike any other track in the world, and it’s a throwback to Indy car venues of old. Its three different corners are each modeled after a different track. Turn one, which is banked at 14 degrees, is modeled after the now-closed Trenton (N.J.) Speedway. Turn two, banked at eight degrees, is a nod to the turns at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And turn three, banked at six degrees, is modeled after the corners at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis.

While the track is relatively flat, Stewart’s statistics at Pocono are not. In addition to his two wins, he has two poles, 11 top-fives, 20 top-10s and has led 156 laps. In 28 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono, Stewart’s average start is 12.4 and his average finish is 11.3. He consistently ranks among the top-five in NASCAR loop data statistics and has the fifth-best overall driver rating at Pocono (98.6). In the last 16 races at Pocono, Stewart and Jimmie Johnson share the best average finishing position (9.4).

That Pocono, with its turn two and long straightaways, is akin to Indianapolis bodes well for Stewart. He’ll race his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS at Indianapolis in July, and then return to Pocono in August for the series’ second visit to the “Tricky Triangle”. The two venues account for three of the 13 races before the Chase begins Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Stewart’s Pocono statistics have already been highlighted, and his Indianapolis numbers are just as robust: two wins in 14 starts, a pole and only two finishes outside the top-12.

As history has proven, Stewart’s timing is excellent. Coming into Pocono with back-to-back top-10s has put Stewart back into Chase contention. Just as summer is heating up, the race for the Chase is too. And like clockwork, so is Stewart.

“It’s big, and it definitely gives us some momentum. We got two weeks of momentum under our belts now at two totally different racetracks. That’s big, because momentum is huge in this sport. We still have a lot of work to do, but we won’t sit. I guarantee you none of these guys will tell you we’re exactly where we want to be right now. It’s a good reward for how hard they’ve been working to get that first win of the year. Now it’s trying to be more consistent and stay in the top-10 more and make our program better. It’s proof that no matter how bad it’s been this year, none of these guys have quit and given up, and I’m really proud of that fact.”

You tested at Pocono last week. What is the biggest difference you noticed with the track, given the new pavement has aged a year and that this is the first Pocono race with the sixth-generation (Gen-6) racecar?

“It’s probably lost some grip, but that will make for some better racing. You can see rubber getting into the racetrack, and that was with just a few laps around the track. To me, that’s very positive. The pace slowing down will make for better racing, for sure. The track surface really held up well over the winter. It didn’t shift a lot. It’s still smooth as glass.”

How much has the new pavement affected what works for you as a driver at Pocono?

“The thing about Pocono – it’s definitely unique. It’s got its own personality, but now that it’s been repaved and all the little nuances and tricks you learned when it was rougher and the tunnel turn was more aggressive – a lot of those things are gone. For us, we’re still learning it, or relearning it.”

This will be Danica Patrick’s first race at Pocono. How do you see her doing and how much do you see her leaning on you and SHR teammate Ryan Newman for help?

“Now that it’s been repaved, it’s a good time for her to come in here. I think it’s a little more clear-cut what to do. This track – there’s parts of it you treat like a road course, and she’s got a huge road-racing background. She understands the concept of what it takes to have a good lap here and carry speed here. There may be things that we ask her before it’s all said and done that may help us as drivers. I think people underestimate how good she is right out of the box at tracks and how good she is at figuring out racetracks. We haven’t had to do a lot of coaching with her. Her input is as good as ours is right out of the box. Her feedback is so strong. You can tell right away that her mind is a sponge. She absorbs a lot of information very quickly. If we see something that is drastically wrong, you grab her and take her off to the side and talk to her. But you really don’t do a lot of that with her. She figures it out pretty quick.”

Winning by maximizing fuel mileage has been a theme at Pocono. Your win at Pocono four years ago came in a fuel-mileage race. Can you explain what you did to make sure you had enough fuel to go the distance while many of your competitors did not?

“I’ve lost a lot more races like that than I’ve won. It was between Carl (Edwards) and me. We were the strongest two cars at the end of the race and we were able to get the track position we needed. Our guys did a great job of getting us out of the pits in the lead and that gave us the opportunity to make Carl push harder in the beginning to get the lead. Once he went into that fuel conservation mode, we had to follow suit. To be in a situation where your speed is dictated off the guy behind you and not off of what you can do, it’s a different style of racing. It’s hard. It’s just as hard, if not tougher, than trying to run 100 percent.”

Victory lane was the last place Tony Stewart expected to end up when he strapped himself into his No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for the FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

After all, winning from the 22nd spot on the starting grid in a racecar with which he’d struggled through practice and qualifying this weekend on a fierce, 1-mile concrete oval at which almost half (47) of the previous 86 Sprint Cup Series winners started no farther back than the front two rows, felt like nothing short of a monster task.

“It was pretty good,” said Newman, a three-time winner at Dover (June 2003, September 2003 and September 2004). “I got just a little bit loose off of (turn) four because I was tight climbing the hill. It was a good run for our Haas Automation Chevrolet. The guys have done a good job the entire time in qualifying trim. We definitely want to see it pay off in qualifying. So far it has.”

Some of those loved ones were of the four-legged variety, ranging from beloved family pets to valuable farm animals. More than a week after the tornado cut a two-mile wide swath of destruction across Moore, children are being reunited with their pets and farmers are able to reclaim lost livestock. Reuniting people with their animals is Code 3 Associates, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization specializing in animal rescue and recovery in disaster areas.

Stewart started 25th in the 43-car field and led once for six laps en route to his 13th top-10 in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1.5-mile oval. It was his second top-10 this season, and it bettered his previous season-best finish of eighth earned 10 races ago in March at Phoenix International Raceway.

“That was a good pick-up from where we practiced,” said Newman, who has four top-five and eight top-10s in 24 Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte. “We were fortunate to get a later draw, because the track gained a ton of grip. We made gains on the Quicken Loans Chevrolet all day. Matt Borland (crew chief) and the guys made a bunch of changes throughout that first practice session, but we focused solely on qualifying trim. We’ll have two practice sessions on Saturday to dial it in for the race Sunday night.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 22, 2013) – The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway has long been one of the “crown jewel” races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, along with the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and since 1994 when stock cars debuted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400. Each of these events garners extra attention given their historical implications and unique attributes, further distinguishing them from their counterparts on the 36-race Sprint Cup calendar.

The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s richest race. The Southern 500 is the series’ oldest superspeedway race. The Brickyard 400 marks NASCAR’s ascendency, because prior to 1994, only Indy cars competed at the venerable oval. And by virtue of being NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 tests man and machine like no other race on the marathon-like Sprint Cup schedule.

Tony Stewart had a relatively quiet night in the 29th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/National Wild Turkey Federation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), started 13th and finished 14th in the annual non-points race featuring drivers who have won a race in 2012 or 2013, in addition to All-Star Race winners and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions from the past 10 years.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet SS, led Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in time trials Friday night at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway by qualifying 11th for Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Newman’s time of 114.716 seconds at 141.218 mph, which included three timed laps around the 1.5-mile oval with a four-tire pit stop, placed him 11th among the 19 drivers already eligible for the 29th running of the non-points event.

“That was a pretty cool qualifying deal,” said Newman, who won the 2002 All-Star Race as a Sprint Cup rookie. “Coming to pit road like that with no speed limit, entering and exiting at speed, I don’t know that I’ve ever done that. Kudos to whoever came up with that idea. We obviously weren’t as fast as we would’ve liked. The guys made some adjustments to the Aspen Dental Chevrolet prior to qualifying, and while the changes were good, I think we needed just a little more. We’ll start a little farther back than I would like to, but we’ll see what we can do once the race starts.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 15, 2013) – The NBA has Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal on its list with 15 All-Star appearances. Baseball greats such as Brooks Robinson, Ozzie Smith and Yogi Berra each played in 15 All-Star Games. And proving how elusive 15 is, no NFL player has played in 15 Pro Bowls. The only one to come close is Merlin Olsen with 14.

In a fast-paced Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway that at one point had only 10 cars on the lead lap, Tony Stewart was poised to score a top-10 finish in one of the most grueling races the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has to offer. But when the checkered flag dropped on the 367-lap contest, Stewart and his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS crossed the stripe in 15th Saturday night.

Stewart was in eighth place on a restart with 59 laps remaining, and coming off turn four of the 1.366-mile oval, the three-time Sprint Cup champion earned his first “Darlington Stripe” after brushing the wall.

“That was one lap, and we have 367 more of them tomorrow night,” said Stewart, who won the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington and has four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 20 career Sprint Cup starts at the venerable track. “It’s a long race, and this is a place where you have to race the racetrack more than anything. We’ve got a lot of adjustability built into our Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy, so we’ll be ready for whatever the track throws at us.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 7, 2013) – She’s a mature lady with a robust personality and a devil-may-care attitude. A little rough around the edges, she has broken the hearts of many. Her take-no-prisoners approach is simply irresistible to her most ardent suitors. And like a moth to a flame, they all keep coming back for more.

For Tony Stewart, however, she is more than just formidable. She’s the one that got away. And year after year, she seemingly stays just out of reach of Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing.

The “Big One” – the massive, multi-car accident that is a mainstay of restrictor-plate racing – happened on lap 44 of the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Among the 16 cars collected in the melee was the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet SS of Tony Stewart.

Stewart’s car sustained right-side damage, and the front of his black-and-orange Chevy was beat up, as well. As Stewart tried to evade the mass of spinning cars, the nose of his machine dug into the water-logged sod lining the inside of turn one and pushed in the grille, breaking many components of the car’s cooling system, specifically, the brackets holding the radiator.

Rain canceled Saturday’s qualifying session for the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. As a result, the 43-car field for Sunday’s 188-lap event around the 2.66-mile oval was set by taking the fastest lap each driver posted during Friday’s first practice session, per the NASCAR rulebook.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (May 1, 2013) – For 138 years, the first weekend in May has been synonymous with one of sports most grand traditions – the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., promising three-year olds such as Revolutionary, Orb, Verrazano and Normandy Invasion look to make history by winning the 139th “Run for the Roses,” or as it is also known, “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports”.

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles south in the heart of Alabama, accomplished drivers such as Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Danica Patrick will prepare for another race that is quickly becoming part of the tradition that is the first weekend in May – the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Tony Stewart had high hopes that a trip to his favorite track might cure what has been ailing his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team, and that looked to be the case with only three laps remaining in the Toyota Owners 400 Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. But rather than celebrating his first top-five of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Stewart dropped from fifth to 18th during the green-white-checkered finish at the .75-mile oval and wound up in a post-race confrontation with fellow driver Kurt Busch.

It was a rough ending to a night that started in a similar fashion. The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS was quite a handful during the first third of the 400-lap race. Stewart had battled a tight-handling issue in the middle of the turns all day Friday, and the problem persisted well into Saturday’s race. Mired in the 27th position during a caution on lap 159, crew chief Steve Addington elected to bring the car in for four tires and fuel while most of the field stayed on the track. The fresh tires were the catalyst needed to spur the No. 14 Chevy as Stewart started making steady progress through the field, cracking the top-15 for the first time on lap 218 and running as high as 10th during the next 100 laps around the track.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway by qualifying 15th for the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night. Newman turned a lap of 20.868 seconds at 129.385 mph around the .75-mile oval.

“The track picks up a good bit,” said Newman, who won at Richmond in September 2003. “It’s kind of tough to gauge that speed when you are the first of a couple of cars out. But I’m proud of the guys on the Outback Chevrolet. They did a good job working through some adjustments today and I feel like we have a better handle on our race package than we do on our qualifying package.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 24, 2013) – Give Tony Stewart a pen and a sketchpad and assign him the task of designing the perfect asphalt track for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the blueprint would look a little something like this:

•D-shaped oval

•Short track, approximately .75-mile in length

•Wide, sweeping turns with approximately 14 degrees of banking in each corner

•Seating capacity of 90,000 and up

Sound familiar? It should. Those are the specifications for Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, and come Saturday night, it is home to Round No. 9 on the marathon-like Sprint Cup schedule.

In what seemed like a case of déjà vu, Tony Stewart fought an ill-handling racecar to finish 21st in the STP 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at a cold, blustery Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Just a week earlier at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Stewart fought an ill-handling racecar to finish – you guessed it – 21st.

The last two races and this entire season have been surreal for Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). He has only one top-10 finish in the eight races run thus far and five finishes outside of the top-20. It’s left Stewart an uncharacteristic 21st in the championship standings, 130 points out of first and 59 out of 10th.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Code 3 Associates Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., by qualifying ninth for the STP 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Newman turned a lap of 28.388 seconds at 190.221 mph around the 1.5-mile oval, the only Chevy driver to qualify in the top-10.

“We take our cars to the limit, and it was a good run for our Code 3 Associates Chevrolet,” said Newman, who won at Kansas in 2003. “Matt (Borland, crew chief) and the guys did a good job off the truck and the car was really good. Even though we’re not on the pole, I’m much happier with that lap than I’ve been on a lot of the intermediate tracks we’ve qualified on this year.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 17, 2013) – Tony Stewart’s success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is well known. Three Sprint Cup championships. Forty-seven Sprint Cup victories. Fourteen Sprint Cup poles. One hundred and seventy four top-fives and 283 top-10s in 507 career Sprint Cup starts, with a total of 12,538 laps led.

Now in his 40s, Stewart’s ability to maintain that level of success comes from an old-school mentality that appears new school in an age of specialization.

In an era where NASCAR drivers race in NASCAR, IZOD IndyCar Series drivers race in IndyCar, sports-car drivers race in sports cars, Stewart races nearly everything, everywhere. After wheeling his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing around the tracks that dot the 38-race Sprint Cup schedule, Stewart is prone to jump in his jet and find a race at Somewhere Speedway, U.S.A. and wheel a high-horsepower winged Sprint Car around dirt bullrings from upstate New York to inland California and everywhere in between.

A long race was made even longer when an ill-handling racecar plagued Tony Stewart throughout the NRA 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

With a car that was loose on entry into the track’s 24-degree banked corners, tight in the middle and then loose off, Stewart had to manhandle his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS every lap around the 1.5-mile oval. No matter what changes were made to the chassis, it never seemed enough to overcome the car’s evil ways. It all led to a 21st -place finish in the nearly three-and-a-half hour race.

“We picked up a second there (from practice), and that’s a lot of speed to pick up here at Texas,” said Stewart, who is a two-time Sprint Cup winner at Texas (November 2006 and November 2011). “Man, these cars are fast around here today. I told Steve Addington (crew chief) I would like to rerun that lap because I think this Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy could go quicker, but I just really don’t want to do it today (laughs).”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 9, 2013) – In 22 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Tony Stewart has scored a pole, two wins, six top-fives, 12 top-10s and led 727 laps. The 1.5-mile oval has been a stout venue for Stewart, who first ran at the Texas track in 1997 as a member of the IZOD IndyCar Series.

In short, Texas has been a boomtown for Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing. That Stewart is sponsored by Mobil 1, the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, makes his return to the oil-rich state of Texas even more appropriate.

Tony Stewart was looking for a boost in the STP Gas Booster 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. After a potential top-five finish slipped away in the series’ last race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., a strong run in the series’ next stop at Martinsville would allow Stewart and Co. to hit the reset button on its still-young season.

But after rallying his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet from its 26th starting spot to 10th by lap 200 and then hovering in or near the top-10 for the remainder of the race, Stewart found himself hung in the outside lane following a restart on lap 473. The final 27 laps of the 500-lap race around paperclip-shaped .526-mile oval proved arduous, as Stewart was stuck in the outside lane as the seemingly express lane to his left boxed him out of the preferred line. When the checkered flag dropped, Stewart was 17th.

“We were a little loose on corner entry, but overall, I was pretty happy with the job the guys did getting this Quicken Loans Chevrolet ready for qualifying,” said Newman, who is the defending winner of the STP Gas Booster 500.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (April 2, 2013) – An extremely powerful 800-watt motor that pulses, stirs, mixes, purees and chops. It can even slice, shred and process a variety of ingredients – all in record time. It’s big, it’s powerful and it’s easy.

Those are just a few attributes of a Cuisinart food processor that actually has several applications. The general idea, though, is to be able to throw together several ingredients and create one fabulous meal.

Tony Stewart, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and three-time World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series A-Feature winner, has teamed up with Kick-It, a partner of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, to host the second annual Kick-It kickball game at the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, sprint car racing’s most prestigious event. The 2013 event will feature four teams – two teams consisting solely of the world’s greatest sprint car drivers, a third team of their wives and girlfriends, and the fourth team featuring fans that donate to the cause.

The fourth team of fans will be chosen by a first-ever go-karting race against Stewart at Slideways Karting Center. The first 50 donors to contribute $200 or more will be entered in the five heat race, and 20-lap featureevent against Stewart on Wednesday of Knoxville Nationals week. The top-two finishers in each heat race will qualify for the feature event and comprise the fourth team in Friday’s kickball event.

With 10 laps remaining in the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Tony Stewart was in third place and lined up for his best finish of the young 2013 Sprint Cup season.

But when the green flag waved on the lap 190 restart, second-place Joey Logano dropped low to the inside of the track, forcing Stewart to wheel his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS to the frontstretch apron. The unorthodox line Stewart had to travel significantly thwarted his momentum into turns one and two, allowing a freight train of cars to pass him in the closing laps. When the checkered flag dropped, Stewart finished a disappointing 22nd.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., by qualifying eighth for the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday. Stewart turned a lap of 38.738 seconds at 185.864 mph around the 2-mile oval.

“We improved by about half a second from practice to qualifying,” said Stewart, who is a two-time winner at Fontana, including last year’s Auto Club 400. “The biggest thing we have to work on is the balance of our racecar. We’ve fought the same thing since we unloaded and if we can fix that then we could be in really good shape Sunday.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 20, 2013) – Multiple-meaning words – terms that can have different meanings depending on how they are used in a sentence – can be tricky for students of the English language. “Light,” “crash,” and “oil” are just a few that appear on a very long list of words that can be used as verbs, nouns and even adjectives depending upon the context and conjugation.

Take the word “rush”. While it is typically used in reference to the notions of haste or urgency, rush can be used as a verb, adjective or noun. The word commonly appears in the English language when referencing heavy traffic patterns such as the morning or evening rush hours. As a verb, it appears when explaining that someone has to hurry to an intended designation. The ways in which the word is used as a noun are numerous, from its appearance in historical anecdotes about the California Gold Rush to the “rush” that is achieved through a surge of adrenaline.

It was St. Patrick’s Day, but there was no luck to be found by Tony Stewart in the Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, as he finished 31st.

Just nine laps into the 500-lap race around the .533-mile oval, the left-rear tire on Stewart’s No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) deflated. Stewart spun and impacted the SAFER Barrier on the outside of turn one with the left side of his racecar. Stewart was OK, but his racecar was not.

“It just shows how good these cars are,” said Stewart, who won at Bristol in August 2001. “To come out with a new car and have them drive this nice, that’s a pretty good deal. Our Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy is good, and with two more practice sessions tomorrow, we can make it better for Sunday.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 13, 2013) – Tony Stewart and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway go way back. It’s an association that touches three decades from Stewart’s rookie season in 1999 through the 2000s to the current 2010s. And like most relationships, things were pretty good in the beginning. Actually, things were great.

After earning a respectable 15th-place finish in his very first Sprint Cup race at Bristol in April 1999, Stewart returned to the .533-mile oval in August for its notorious night race where he sat on the pole and led a race-high 225 laps en route to scoring a fifth-place finish. Two years later Stewart raced to his very first win in Thunder Valley, capturing the 2001 night race. Other than a 42nd-place finish that was the result of an overheating issue during the spring race of 2000, Stewart and Bristol had a pretty good run during those early years.

Tony Stewart used the last 100 laps of the Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to rally to an 11th-place finish.

It was Stewart’s 11th top-12 result in 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Las Vegas, and it gained Stewart valuable spots in the championship point standings. He stands 18th after a crash in the season-opening Daytona 500 three races ago left him 37th in points.

Rain canceled today’s qualifying session for the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As a result, the 43-car field for Sunday’s 267-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval was set per the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rule book,

Because teams did not practice Friday, the lineup has been determined primarily by 2012 owners’ points. With the race being the third of the 2013 season, the top-36 teams from 2012 owner points will start in positions 1-36. With no past champions and no 2012 or 2013 race winners among those not already in the field, the next spots went to teams in the top-36 in 2013 owner points.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (March 6, 2013) – Elvis. Singer, dancer, actor and the undisputed king of rock-and-roll. A pop-culture icon transcending time and place, and one of only a handful of historic figures recognized by a single name. Although Elvis has been gone for more than three decades, his legacy casts a long shadow, and it remains visible today. And while Memphis, Tenn., was his home, Las Vegas was recognized as his home away from home. To say that Elvis has not left the building in Las Vegas may be an understatement. There is likely no place on Earth where his presence not only lives on, but thrives.

For nearly 20 years, Elvis and the city of Las Vegas enjoyed a relationship full of mutual admiration. From the first time he performed in the city in 1956 to his wedding to Priscilla in 1967 to a series of shows throughout the 1970s, Elvis seemingly owned the Entertainment Capital of the World. The city even served as the setting for what many critics considered one of his best films with the 1964 hit “Viva Las Vegas.” It’s a period of time affectionately referred to as “The Vegas Years.”

The best way to get over a bad race is to go out and have a good one. Tony Stewart did just that with his eighth-place finish in the Subway Fresh Fit 500k on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Putting aside last week’s heartbreaking finish in the Daytona 500, the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) performed solidly at Phoenix while earning his 12th top-10 in 23 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1-mile oval. And he also learned a few things on which the team hopes to capitalize as the season progresses.

Stewart turned a lap of 26.250 seconds at 137.143 mph around the 1-mile oval.

“It wasn’t bad,” said Stewart, who won at Phoenix in November 1999. “We had a pretty reasonable run there with the Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy. I thought we were a little bit tight, but the track seems pretty fast right now. So, we felt pretty good about our lap.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Feb. 27, 2013) – “Go West young man, go West and grow up with the country.” That quote is attributed to the late American newspaper editor and 1872 presidential candidate Horace Greely. The phrase, one of the most commonly used quotes from the early 19th century, was used by Greely to encourage the territorial expansion of the United States, a notion commonly referred to as Manifest Destiny.

While there is some debate among historians as to whether Greely coined the phrase or simply borrowed it from a peer for one of his editorials, there is little question the idea of Manifest Destiny helped shape the contiguous United States as it exists today. Since the era of expansion, however, Manifest Destiny has evolved and, in some respects, become a very general view that is manipulated for the purpose of supporting a variety of political views, social issues and pop culture lore.

Tony Stewart felt confident heading into the 55th Daytona 500 Sunday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. It was his 15th career start in the Great American Race, and his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS was fast throughout Speedweeks.

But just 34 laps into the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Stewart was collected in a multi-car crash that left his once-sleek Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet a crumpled mess. His Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team made extensive repairs and 82 laps later, Stewart returned to the 2.5-mile superspeedway to log laps and earn the best finish possible, which was 41st in the 43-car field.

Stewart, driver of the No. 33 Ritz Crackers/Oreo Chevrolet Camaro, led the final three laps of the 120-lap race around the 2.5-mile superspeedway to claim the victory in the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300. The celebration was muted, however, as a last-lap, multi-car crash on the track’s frontstretch sent debris into the grandstands, injuring fans.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Feb. 22, 2013) – Rush Enterprises, which operates the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America, will be the primary sponsor of Tony Stewart and the No. 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) for three Sprint Cup races with its Rush Truck Centers brand.

Rush Truck Centers will adorn the hood of the No. 14 Chevrolet SS March 24 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 7 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and April 27 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. When not serving as the primary sponsor, Rush Truck Centers will be an associate sponsor on the No. 14 Chevrolet with placement on the B-pillar and lower-rear quarterpanel.

Tony Stewart continued a solid Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway by finishing sixth in Thursday’s Budweiser Duel, twin qualifying races that set the 43-car field for the season-opening Daytona 500. Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will start 13th in the 55th Daytona 500 on Sunday.

Stewart finished fourth last Saturday night in the non-points Sprint Unlimited, set the fifth-fastest speed in time trials for the Daytona 500 last Sunday, and has been among the top-11 in each practice session in which he’s participated. It’s been a strong outing for Stewart and the debut of his sixth-generation racecar (Gen-6) – the 2013 Chevrolet SS.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet SS, led the Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials for the 55th annual Daytona 500 by qualifying on the pole for the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Patrick turned a lap of 45.817 seconds at 196.434 mph on the 2.5-mile superspeedway to earn her first career Sprint Cup pole. The Daytona 500 will mark her 11th career Sprint Cup start, as her pole locked her into the Great American Race.

Stewart started 15th and led twice for five laps. He was second in the closing laps of the 75-lap race but dropped to fourth on the final circuit around the 2.5-mile superspeedway after being passed by Greg Biffle and Joey Logano.

“I wasn’t quite sure exactly which move to make,” Stewart said. “I saw the No. 22 (Logano) coming on the bottom. I thought they were going fast enough that I needed to move down, but I should’ve stayed where I was.

“We’ve got a good car. Anybody that questions whether Mobil 1 is the best lubricant brand in the world, all they had to do was watch the first 20 laps of that race. We proved it by going to the back, going to the front, going to the back, going to the front. We’ve got really good racecars. I’m really proud of the Hendrick engine department and everybody at Stewart-Haas. To go through the winter these guys have gone through, trying to build cars at the last minute because of the shortage of parts and to bring two cars down here that are this fast, I’m really proud of our organization right now.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Feb. 13, 2013) – A new car. It’s a prospect that can be both daunting and exhilarating. It’s visually appealing yet financially intimidating. It’s a rite of passage and often times reflective of varying life stages, from living the single life to joining the ranks of parenthood. And the options? Practically limitless. Chevrolet alone is introducing 13 new vehicles this year. Whether in the market for the sportiness of a Corvette, the luxury of an Impala or the spaciousness of a Traverse, possibilities abound for satisfying the wants and needs a new car provides.